October 14-20
Well hello, October my old friend. September, October, and November are easily my favorite seasons, especially once the days get shorter (said no one ever except me), the mood gets calmer from everyone slowing down, and most of all the meals get cozier.
Soups, stews, casseroles, hot coffee, and matcha, you name it I am making the ultimate comfort dishes.
But alas, the first week in October brings us a bit of a heat wave. Here in Western New York, my weather app tells me to be on the lookout for sunny and 80-degree days. I’ll let it slide, but only because it happens every year when we get an odd hot week.
Before I dive into what we are eating for dinner this week, let me walk you through some background context. When I was in college, living with my now husband, we grocery shopped once a week at Walmart. There was an Ingles (which most Southerners know of), but Ingles was a more expensive grocery store for some reason. We would shop the coupons we collected in flyers there, and if there were specialty items we needed that Walmart didn’t carry, we would venture there. For the most part, Walmart was our saving grace. Decently priced food for broke college kids, and it was also the only choice we had for a small rural college town.
We would sit down once a week, usually on a Friday at the end of the week, and jot down some meal ideas. Saturday would be shopping day!
Fast forward to today, I live in a city now that has an Aldi at every corner. I am very fortunate to be able to live in a suburban area. We found a trifecta only ten minutes from our house that has an Aldi, Wegmans, and Tops within a quarter mile of each other, if even. Each Thursday, we get a Tops flyer in the mail detailing deals of the week and providing coupons. Aldi and Wegmans, we leave for our regular groceries.
Now to outline the menu. I still write my menus on paper because I just can’t bring myself to use my notes app and I can’t seem to transition away from paper for certain things. There is something about writing a menu on a piece of paper that makes it so nostalgic.
I like to split my paper in two columns, one side is the actual menu and the other reflects the list. This was a really light list this week, one because my husband is out of town on a work trip, and two because we have done a lot of sale shopping here already the last few weeks and are very stocked on meats and carbs/grains. So basically, this week I am replenishing our veggies and shopping our pantry/fridge/freezer to make a full week of meals. I am cooking meals in bulk so there are leftovers for lunch the next day as well as plenty to have on Friday for a leftover night so I don’t have to cook!
Here’s what’s on the menu this week:
| List |
|---|
| Aldi Produce Green beans Broccoli Salad mix Avocado x2 Mushrooms x3 Pantry Coconut milk Salad Dressing Fridge Soy Milk Eggs Frozen Veg mix |
| Wegmans Produce Banana Pantry Chickpeas Popcorn Nutritional Yeast Fridge 2% milk |
| Tops Produce Pantry Fridge |
Menu |
| Saturday Dinner Out |
| Sunday Radish top/basil pesto pasta with bell pepper, mushrooms, chickpeas, cherry tomato, and parmesan Meatless |
| Monday Turkey meatballs with mushroom gravy, rice, and green beans |
| Tuesday Ziti with sausage and a side of broccoli |
| Tuesday Ziti with sausage and a side of broccoli |
| Thursday Chicken pot pie with sourdough biscuits https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/best-chicken-pot-pie-recipe-with-sourdough-biscuits |
| Friday Leftovers |
I hope this brought you some inspiration! I find it helpful to shop your pantry, take inventory of what you have first, and try to make do with what you have before coming up with new meal ideas. For example, we had a box of unopened pasta, Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, and sauce already on hand. That’s Ziti! Now, I need a veg… broccoli sounds delicious, BAM one dinner down. I love the idea of shopping my home first and then based on what I have and can make from the ingredients at home, I may just have to buy a veggie or a simple ingredient to round out that meal.
Talk soon,
Jennifer